Washington state Democratic Party Chair Dwight Pelz, a superdelegate to the Democratic National Convention, has endorsed Barack Obama for president. In a Monday, May 19 email Pelz said that he felt he could do so now that state party members had largely completed the process of picking delegates for the convention. Most of Washington's delegates are committed to Obama.
Pelz said of Obama:
I will be supporting Barack Obama for many reasons. Over the last few years, I have gained a profound respect for Sen. Obama. I have read his books, listened to his speeches, and watched the campaign he has run on the grueling modern presidential playing-field for nearly two years. And I have spoken with literally hundreds of friends and colleagues -- both in and out of politics -- regarding their opinions and observations of this man. I have concluded that Barack Obama is ready to be a great American President.
Saturday, May 17, I attended the 7th Congressional District caucus at North Seattle Community College where a handful of delegates (seven for Obama and two for Sen. Hillary Clinton) were chosen for the Democratic convention in Denver in August. I plan to write about the delegate selection process, which was fascinating: more than 200 people vied for those seven Obama positions. While far less crowded than Obama's weekend speech in Portland that was attended by an estimated 75,000 people, the caucus was intense as people channeled their passion into campaigning for so few slots.
